Facebook has launched a new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of radical content . The social network, which has been at the center of controversy for allowing content that incites violence and hatred, has begun to notify some users that they may have been exposed to extremist posts from their contacts.
The mechanism has come to light on Twitter, where some users have shared screenshots of the new warning that the social network is showing. “Has anyone gotten this pop-up message on Facebook?” Asked a woman. “Facebook will now alert you if you have been exposed to extremist content,” added another user
Facebook says on its support page that “violent groups can be very persuasive and use feelings like anger and disappointment to get other people to join them.” The social network adds that these groups tend to promote messages such as “ violence is the only way to achieve change “.
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Facebook wants to prevent extremism
It seems that, for now, there are two types of messages on Facebook. One of them is an alert for users for having been exposed to extremist publications . “You may have recently been exposed to harmful extremist content,” he warns. It also offers the possibility of “taking action” through a “Get support” button.
The other group of messages revolves around if the user suspects that one of their contacts is sharing radical content . “Are you worried that someone you know is turning into an extremist?” He asks. “We care about preventing extremism on Facebook,” he adds, clarifying that other people in the same situation have received confidential support.
Because the mechanism is recent, information on its scope is still scarce. It is not yet clear whether it will work in all the countries in which Facebook has a presence or will focus on a few such as the United States, where it took a controversial stance by not doing enough to moderate harmful content.
However, this is not the first time that the social network run by Mark Zuckerberg says it tries to combat extremism. In the past, precisely in 2019, it launched new automated techniques to detect and eliminate terrorist content. In addition, they updated their security policies.
